Historic U.S. 61: Maplewood Drive, At County Road C

Maplewood Drive
At County Road C

The service drive along the east side of U.S. 61 just north of County Road C in Maplewood was once part of the original paved highway between St. Paul and White Bear Lake.

Construction

The original alignment of U.S. 61 through what is now Maplewood was constructed in 1921 as part of a project to pave the road between St. Paul and White Bear Lake. The original pavement was 24 feet of asphalt over a concrete base. The road remained unaltered until a 1937 project widened the grade to make room for gravel shoulders.

Bypass History

The original highway was replaced in 1952 by the construction of the current divided highway between St. Paul and White Bear Lake.

Current Status

The service drive has since been repaved. Its southern end was realigned at some point in the 1970's or 80's. It was along this segment that the historic KSTP AM transmitter was constructed in the 1930's (for more info on the historic KSTP building, see Cathy Wurzer's book, "Tales of the Road, U.S. 61". )

Photo Tour - Photos from August, 2009.

Looking north down the service drive towards Kohlman Avenue.

A bizarre adobe/western office building.

Another view to the north towards Beam Avenue. Note the Mercedes dealership and Abra auto body shop.